Helen Levitt

2 photographs, each signed in pencil on the reverse, circa 1940 (2)

The photographer to the present owner

Helen Levitt, A Way of Seeing (Durham, 1989), pl. 45

Sandra S. Phillips and Maria Morris Hambourg, Helen Levitt (The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991), pl. 24

Peter Galassi, Walker Evans & Company (The Museum of Modern Art, 2000), fig. 23

These 2 early contact prints, on stiff double-weight paper with a slight surface sheen, are in generally very good to excellent condition. The print illustrated in the catalogue top left is slightly warmer in tonality and there are 2 soft creases in the left portion of the image. There are small clamp impressions from processing at each of the thin black margin corners on both prints. The edges and corners of each print are slightly rubbed with some very minor, intermittent chipping. The reverse of each print is very slightly age-darkened. There are 2 hinge remnants along the upper edge of each print.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Helen Levitt made these interior photographs with a 4 x 5 view camera borrowed from Walker Evans. More accustomed to working on the street with a handheld Leica camera, Levitt nonetheless displays her instinctive talent for portraiture. Levitt’s flash did not go off at first, but her subject allowed her a second try. The image illustrated above left is the classic exposure from that day, and the below a rare print of that first attempt without flash. It is believed that the present photographs are Levitt’s first contact prints made from that sitting.